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Kidnappers Kill Oyo Teacher in Captivity, Makinde Confirms

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Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has confirmed that one of the teachers abducted during the recent terrorist attack on schools in Oriire LGA of the state, has been killed in captivity.

Speaking on Sunday during a press briefing on the incident, Makinde described the situation as “difficult and challenging”, saying the state government is intensifying efforts to rescue the remaining victims.

On Friday, gunmen riding motorcycles invaded communities within the Ahoro-Esiele/Yawota axis of Oriire, Ogbomoso, and abducted students and staff members of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, L.A. Primary School, Esiele, and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.

The attack left an assistant headmaster, identified as Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist dead.

According to Makinde, a video received by the state government confirmed the killing of one of the abductees identified as a mathematics teacher.

“What we know is that seven teachers in all were abducted and unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, the maths teacher, was killed by the terrorists this morning,” Makinde said.

Authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of schoolchildren abducted.

In the aftermath of the incident, videos recorded from captivity began circulating on social media, showing abducted teachers pleading with the government and Nigerians for urgent intervention.

One of the viral videos featured Rachael Alamu, principal of Community High School, Esiele, appealing to the government to help secure the release of the victims before they are killed.

Makinde detailed that six persons had been arrested within the affected locality over alleged links to the attackers, and that another three “persons of interest” were also arrested in connection with the attack.

“The information available from the Commissioner of Police is that six individuals have been arrested within the locality. Some of them were believed to perhaps be informants to people running logistics for the terrorists,” he said.

Following the attack, the Oyo Police Command announced the commencement of an intensive manhunt and rescue operation involving multiple security agencies.

Makinde said personnel of the police, military, the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun, and local hunters were mobilised immediately to pursue the attackers.

The governor said, however, some Amotekun operatives sustained injuries after encountering improvised explosive devices planted by the terrorists during the operation.

“After the incident, Amotekun, the police, military and hunters were mobilised to go after the terrorists and it was along that line that they ran into IEDs and some of the Amotekun operatives were wounded,” he said.

Sources told TheCable that the terrorists had initially opened fire on the security operatives who were approaching the Old Oyo national park on motorcycles, causing them to flee.

“When the shooting subsided, the operatives decided to go for their motorbikes. Unfortunately, a dynamite exploded against one Amotekun corps member and he was wounded. He has been taken to the hospital for medical attention,” a source said.

“Apart from air raid, the Old Oyo National Park Area can’t be easily accessed through infantry. It’s a long distance from the Oowe River which forms a natural landmark boundary for the park. Motorcycles would have to be used for the journey, but the noise of the approaching motorcycles alerted the terrorists.”

Makinde linked the attack to increasing pressure being mounted on terrorist groups in the north-east, warning that fleeing armed groups are moving into other parts of the country, including the south-west.

“With the pressure on the terrorists in the north-east theatre, they will keep moving southwards. Today, the governor of Kwara state has spoken to me. But the problem we have is that when you have pressure in one place, we must be prepared on this side to either repel or neutralise any terrorists fleeing the pressure,” he said.

The governor harped on the need for sustained government and security presence in vulnerable communities, warning that temporary military operations without long-term security measures could leave residents exposed to future attacks.

“If all we can do is clearance operations for a week or two and leave that place, the terrorists will come back and the people will become vulnerable,” he said.

He assured residents that the state government would be deploying military and non-military strategies to secure the release of the abducted victims and tackle the growing security threat.

“We have decided that we will adopt not just the kinetic approach. We have not taken this lightly,” he added.

Makinde also appealed for calm and patience from residents, acknowledging the complexity of the operation.

“I want to appeal to everyone that we are doing everything within our power to ensure that this would be resolved quickly and we bring our children back safely, but it is a very difficult and challenging situation so there may not be quick fixes,” he added.

Source: TheCable

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Food for Living: Love What You Do (Pt. 2)

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Last week, we laid the foundation of loving what you do. We discussed loving the topic as it relates to family, career, health, relationship, personal development, purpose and spirituality.  Today, we shall be focusing on how loving what you do can be a game changer.

It’s instructive to note that in the dictionary of life; when you love what you do and what you do loves you, you are destined for not only success, but also greatness. One may be wondering how this works. Trust me, it is difficult to succeed in a major, or profession one doesn’t like.

The journey of life can be challenging, stressful and unpredictable. When one is trying to set up a business, there’s bound to be setbacks maybe due to a new policy or meeting up with the requirement, there could challenges of funds; in academics, if one choose a major one likes, despite the associating challenges that may arise, one will still manage to pull through because he that is in him is greater and stronger than he that is in the world.

Also, in relationships and marriage, if one values friendship, they won’t allow their ego to have influence over them. Rather, they will invest time and resources in the relationship. That’s why it’s always good to place values above physical features in a human body when it comes to settling down for marriage because at the end of the day, the human body features can fade away, but values and friendship will not fade away, rather, it will serve as the binding factor that keeps the relationship.

One’s career is not an exception; one can tell who likes their job and one who doesn’t like their job. In workplaces, if one is happy at work, they tend to put in extra hours to get the job done. But when they are not happy with the job, they’ll do the bare minimum just to get through.

Let’s spend a minute to understand how loving what one does can be a game changer in one’s life. Just imagine, one is inspired to write a book, there will be challenges, however, it is the inspiration and determination of the person that will determine if they will finish strong. But if they are inspired by the wrong source, they might finish weak. Here is the gist, it is your desire to succeed that will outweigh your fear of failure.

Again, imagine a scenario where one is starting a business but has no resources and structure behind him. The fact is that if the person loves what he’s doing, it will be hard for the person to give up because their force is internal. I can vividly remember when I was working on my first, second and third book, I had many reasons to quit, but I refused because I love the work I was producing.

Furthermore, when you love what you do, you’ll endeavor to learn something new in addition to spending quality time to improve the work. I say this because rational minds don’t invest time and resources in what they don’t like. There’s a saying, if you want to know a man, give money, women and power. One of them would like to subdue him, but if he’s able to overcome them, he is a man.

This principle of loving what you do cuts across all facets of life whether we are taking care of families, academics, religion purpose, health, career, finance and even spiritual life. For families a man/woman who is intentional in building their family, must love their family and loving their family intends sacrificing for the family.

For health, if one loves their health, they won’t take harmful substances, just because they love their health; they will be intentional in exercising, and in doing so, they must love exercising.  For finance, an intentional person must spend time learning about stock, budgeting and investment. These are avenues to show that they have interest in growing their income.  Even in spiritual life, when one shows interest in loving God in truth and spirit, God has a way of coming through for them because they have been tested and trusted. This is simply how life works. Even in relationships if one loves their partner, there’s a high probability they would like to invest time and resources into that relationship.

In summary, endeavor to love what you do because there’s a certain level of spiritual strength, blessings and corresponding opportunities that’s associated with success, when one loves what they do. This is basically how life works.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny- Actualizing Your Birthright to SuccessUnleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Success . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

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Osun Govt Drags Fadahunsi to Court over “Kill Accord Members” Threat

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The Osun State Government has approached the High Court of Osun State seeking an order compelling security agencies to investigate Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi over his alleged threats against members and supporters of the Accord Party ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

The suit, marked HOS/M.157/26, was filed on August 12, 2026, at the Osogbo Judicial Division, three days before the August 15 election.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada (SAN), filed the application seeking an Order of Mandamus against the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command. Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, was listed as the person affected or interested party.

The government said its action followed a video circulating on social media in which Fadahunsi was allegedly captured addressing a political gathering in front of the Owa Obokun’s Palace in Ilesha on August 11.

According to the court documents, the senator allegedly made statements interpreted as calls for violence against members of the Accord Party.

The government said a transcript and translation of the speech showed Fadahunsi allegedly directing supporters to attack Accord members wherever they encountered them and making threats against their families.

The court filings also alleged that the senator instructed his supporters to chase Accord members out of hotels where they were found and made derogatory comments about the party’s yellow caps.

The government further alleged that Fadahunsi threatened that the election would not hold if Accord members resisted the actions of APC supporters.

The Attorney-General is asking the court to compel the police to investigate the video and determine whether the alleged statements constitute criminal offences under applicable laws.

The government is also seeking an order directing the police to preserve, authenticate and conduct a forensic examination of the complete video to establish whether it has been altered or edited.

Other reliefs sought include compelling the police to take preventive measures to protect Accord candidates, members and voters from intimidation or harassment before, during and after the election.

The government also wants the police to ensure that registered voters and Accord supporters are not prevented from accessing hotels or other locations during the electoral period.

It further asked the court to order the respondents to submit a report on compliance with the court’s directives within 48 hours of the orders being granted.

In the supporting affidavit, Nurudeen Kareem, Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Legal Matters, said Accord members had expressed “reasonable and legitimate concerns regarding their safety and security before, during, and after the forthcoming election.”

The government argued that the police have a statutory responsibility under the Police Act 2020 and the 1999 Constitution to prevent crime and maintain public order.

It maintained that waiting until violence occurs before investigating an alleged public threat would undermine the preventive role of law enforcement.

“The Applicant believes that waiting until actual violence, deaths, or injuries occur before investigating an alleged public instruction to kill political opponents would amount to a dereliction of duty,” the government said.

The Attorney-General also clarified that the suit was not asking the court to determine Fadahunsi’s criminal guilt, stressing that such a determination would require a proper criminal trial.

Rather, the government said it was seeking to compel the police to carry out their statutory responsibilities and take appropriate preventive action.

With the election scheduled for Saturday, the government said “time is of the absolute essence”, warning that failure to act on the alleged threats could expose residents to “irreparable harm, loss of life, and widespread civil unrest.”

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Don’t Turn Osun Election into War, Atiku Warns Tinubu, INEC, Security Agencies

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Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the Tinubu administration against militarising the Osun governorship election or using state institutions for partisan gain.

Speaking at the ADC National Youth Leadership Summit in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said the Osun poll “is a test” of Nigeria’s ability to conduct credible elections ahead of 2027.

He said the scale of security deployment ahead of the August 15 election looked more like preparation for war than a democratic exercise.

“Elections are civil engagements, not military operations. Ballot papers are not bullets. Voters are not enemy combatants. Opposition members are not insurgents,” Atiku said.

He also questioned why the same level of security was not being deployed against terrorists, kidnappers and bandits attacking communities across the country.

Atiku cautioned INEC against “mysterious glitches, unexplained delays or manipulation” and demanded timely delivery of materials, unhindered voting, honest counting and transparent transmission of results.

“The police belong to Nigeria. The military belongs to Nigeria. INEC belongs to the Nigerian people. None of them belongs to the APC,” he said.

“The world is watching Osun. Nigerians are watching. History is taking notes. Let the people vote. Let every vote count. And let the will of the people prevail.”

Atiku also raised fresh concerns over the Chicago State University certificate submitted to INEC by President Bola Tinubu.

He alleged discrepancies in the document, noting that one version bears June 22, 1979, while another linked to CSU records bears June 27, 1979, with reported differences in signatures and the description of the degree.

He further questioned why the names and signatures of university officials who assumed office years after 1979 reportedly appear on documents dated 1979 and asked whether they were replacement certificates and who authorised them.

Citing Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution on disqualification for presenting a forged certificate to INEC, Atiku said the exact document submitted to INEC must be authenticated.

“Who produced the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC? When was it produced? Who authorised it? Why does it differ from the other version, and does Chicago State University authenticate the exact document submitted to INEC?” he asked.

“If a young Nigerian would be required to explain such discrepancies before getting an ordinary job, why should the man seeking Nigeria’s highest job be exempt from the same standard?”

On youth participation, Atiku pledged that at least 30 per cent of legislative candidates under his political programme would be below 40 years, with a significant number below 30.

He charged young Nigerians to “Register. Organise. Lead” and turn frustration into political action.

“Anger is not an organisation. A hashtag is not an organisation,” he said.

“Your time is not tomorrow. Your time is now.”

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